Coralville Old Town Hall

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Also available by appointment. Please call (319) 351-5738 or contact us at least two business days in advance to schedule a tour. Event rentals available, please visit our Room Reservations page for more information.

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The Coralville Old Town Hall was originally constructed as the Union Ecclesiastical Church and was used as a space for religious and public gatherings for several decades. When the building was completed in 1892, it was located at the present-day address of 405 Second Avenue.

Beginning in 1930, this building served as Coralville’s Town Hall, accommodating many public officials until 1974. The main level housed the offices of the City Clerk and the Water Billing Department. Town council meetings were held on the main level on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The basement was occupied by the Coralville Police Department and the Office of Public Works. In addition, the basement became Coralville’s official polling site.

Alongside city operations, the Town Hall continued to serve many purposes for Coralville’s growing community. In the early 1930s, the Evangelical Free Church of Coralville began hosting their Sunday services in the building. The church continued to do this until the basement of their new property was completed in 1951. In the 1940s, the Town Hall was also used as a temporary classroom due to the overflow of students at the schoolhouse, until the completion of Coralville Central Elementary School. The Coralville Public Library’s first location was the northeast corner of the Town Hall basement from 1965 to 1967. During that time, the library’s inventory offered approximately 2,250 books and operated 18 hours per week. Within two years, the library outgrew this space and relocated to The Fesler Building on Fifth Street.

In 1974, Coralville’s new City Hall was erected next to the Coralville Fire Station. After the city’s offices had moved, Coralville granted permission to the Johnson County Historical Society to use the building until the 1876 Schoolhouse renovations were completed in 1983.

Following almost a century of public use, the Old Town Hall entered a period of private ownership. In 1987, a private owner purchased the building for $65,000. The building underwent renovations before the restaurant Silver Spoon rented the space from 1989 to 1993.

The building was sold to another private owner in 1994. To allow room for the RiverView Square development, the building was relocated from 405 to 406 Second Avenue – from the east side of the street to the west side. The structure was moved on a flatbed truck directly across the street, with the front entrance becoming the back door. The basement was lost during this move and was not reconstructed in its new location.

Following the flood of 2008, the City of Coralville obtained the building once again and leased it to a photography studio. In 2014, the City of Coralville moved the Old Town Hall to its present location, across from the 1876 Coralville Schoolhouse.

Interested in local history? Want to learn more and share it with others? We are looking for volunteer tour guides to share the history of the Plum Grove Historic Home, the former residence of Iowa’s First Territorial Governor, Robert Lucas. The fully furnished home was built in 1844 and was originally a country home. Now located in the middle of Iowa City, Plum Grove is open for tours Wednesday-Sunday from 1-5pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day with weekend hours through the end of October. Tour guides, after training, sign up for work days based on their own availability. If interested email Alex at admin@johnsoncountyhistory.org or call JCHS at 319-351-5738! ... See MoreSee Less